Instructure and iDesignEDU Partner to Improve the Online Learning Experience

Top learning management system responds to increased demand for faculty support with learning design

DALLAS – Mar. 1, 2016 – Today, iDesignEDU announced a partnership with Instructure to bring universities and their instructors the design support needed to improve online course delivery. iDesignEDU, which is pioneering a new model of instructional design and unbundled online program management, will help colleges and businesses use Instructure’s Canvas learning management system to build courses that make an impact.

In response to increased accountability pressures and a commitment to improving outcomes, universities are now relying on instructional design as a support system for faculty who must engage students and experiment with pedagogical shifts. Instructure’s partnership with iDesignEDU will bring needed capacity to college and university partners by pairing innovative software with white-glove instructional design support for faculty, resulting in high quality learning experiences.

”The iDesign team brings a thoughtful, faculty-first approach to technology implementation,” said Melissa Loble, Vice President, Partners and Programs at Instructure. “Their university partners view them as an indispensible asset and full-service partner in the design of learning experiences that improve outcomes and reach.”

The pace of innovation in online education is accelerating, creating a massive demand for instructional designers who help faculty better leverage new tools and data. Just three years ago, there were less than 5,000 instructional designer job openings on LinkedIn. Today, the number has tripled. Salaries for instructional designers overall are increasing and the annual job growth rate for instructional designers is projected to be 13% per year over the next eight years in the U.S., according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Outlook Handbook.

“Canvas is a game-changing platform in higher education, but faculty and institutional leaders need support to maximize its potential to implement new modalities, identify at-risk students or measure learning outcomes,” said Paxton Riter, Chief Executive Officer of iDesignEDU. “We are proud to partner with Canvas to help their partners succeed –and make an impact at scale.

“USC Marshall uses Canvas for its online MBA course offerings, and wanted more hands-on help with the design of the program,” said Sandra Chrystal, the Vice Dean of Online Learning at USC Marshall. “iDesign quickly created content and built a student experience that was intuitive, sleek, and a faithful representation of our brand.”

Based on a formal review and certification process of their technical integrations, iDesignEDU will be recognized as a Canvas alliance partner. These integrations empower educational institutions to provide faculty, teachers and learners a seamless ecosystem of educational technologies. For more information, please visit www.idesignedu.org.

About iDesignEDU:

iDesignEDU partners with universities to build, grow and support online and blended courses and program offerings. We are passionate about helping faculty harness the potential of emerging technologies to design courses and degrees that make an impact, whether they are fully online, flipped, adaptive, blended or competency-based. From statewide university systems to private colleges, our custom solutions pair instructional design with technologies to enable great teaching. For more information, please visit www.idesignedu.org.